Physiotherapy journal editor Michele Harms looks at recent papers

How can we increase motivation to exercise?

The predicted escalation in chronic lifestyle-related diseases led this group of researchers to look at behaviour change and how to motivate people to increase their short and long-term adherence to physical activity. McGrane, Galvin, Cusack and Stokes undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis which included 14 studies, comprising 1,504 participants.

Although they reported common problems with study quality, they found that motivational interventions could increase adherence to exercise, have a positive effect on long-term exercise behaviour, improve self-efficacy and reduce levels of activity limitation.

Collaborating authors from the universities of Oxford and Warwick report the results of a prospective cohort study of 420 participants.They included patients with whiplash symptoms three weeks after injury who had self-referred to physiotherapy.

The authors identified risk factors for chronic disability, measured using the neck disability index, in people with acute whiplash associated disorders and estimated the impact of the numbers of risk factors present. They collected data approximately 4.5 weeks after injury and at follow-up 12 months later. Thirty per cent of their participants developed chronic disability.

Their results suggest that initial disability, longer predicted recovery time, psychological distress, passive coping and a greater number of symptoms were associated with chronic disability.

Researchers from the university of Essex and the COPD team at Broomfield hospital set out to investigate the benefits and differences between a six, seven and eight-week pulmonary rehabilitation programme. A total of 363 patients with chronic respiratory conditions participated in their study.

The exercise programme included 10 minutes’ warm-up and 60 minutes of interval training and a cool down period. There were 10 upper and lower limb exercises and the participants exercised for two minutes (increasing to a maximum of four minutes) and rested for two minutes. The programme also included an education component.

These reports are from papers in the latest issue of the CSP journal, Physiotherapy (Physiotherapy March 2015; 101(1). CSP members can access these free of charge online, via the CSP website.

Comments and conclusions

Inactivity can be even more harmful than obesity, say researchers at the university of Cambridge who recorded the weight and exercise levels of 334,161 people. Increasing activity reduced death rates among the least active people, whatever their weight. Eliminating inactivity could save twice as many lives as eliminating obesity, they say. Ekelund U et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2015.